Spanner in the Works (IC)

[Semi-Autogyro]

August 18, 2012

Centery Bridge, Port Regal

3:35 PM

John glanced over to Victoria. "Sorry that I was overseas and not able to attend your apartment warming celebration." Which was why he was currently sitting in the back of a taxicab as it crossed the Centery Bridge, his gift sitting between the two. Worrying that he might pick up something that his friend did not need, he had convinced her to come and pick something out before he visited.

"If you contact the others, I will arrange for some food to eat while we break in your new game console." He looked out across the bay, taking note of the helicopter that had just flown overhead heading into the city.

[Azuth65]

Vicky adjusted her sunglasses, trying not to be alarmed by the near reckless driving of the cabby John had hailed, "Not a problem John." She placed a hand idly on the bag from the shopping, glad she'd been able to use a coupon that had been about to expire with her friend's gift.

At his comment about breaking in the new console, she had to smile. Her old one had shorted out after a recent thunderstorm and this one was a significant upgrade in memory storage. "So, how should we break the new system in, a bunch of movies over dinner or split-screen deathmatch in one of the shooters I've got?"

Her stomach let out a quiet rumble at the mention of food, "There's a few places that deliver by me, the pizza place's drivers and Chinese delivery guys know me by name. There's also an Italian and a Russian place where we're just at the edge of their delivery range."

[Semi-Autogyro]

Their taxi gradually slowed and stopped as up ahead was some ongoing construction that was bottlenecking traffic.

"Sounds like a plan." John gave her a wan smile. "Well, at least you have some choice in the matter." A trio of armored cars pulled up and idled alongside the taxi on Victorias side, casting the interior of the taxi in their shadow.

"I heard that you have a job working with Miss Teymourian. How is that working out so far?"

[Azuth65]

Vicky eyed the armored cars briefly, vehicles, military or otherwise, had never been her thing so she wasn't able to tell much beyond they were blocking the sun. "It's working out pretty well. I will admit, it is nice being paid for the drawings I was doing anyway. Plus her letter of recommendation helped with my acceptance into FreeSA's art program. The only downside is I have an actual schedule to keep my drawing to now," she finished with a small shrug.

"How 'bout you, how was the overseas trip?" she asked, not sure what exactly it had entailed and she wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with his 'father', thus something not to be shared in a cab.

[Semi-Autogyro]

A female secuity guard looked down at the young woman from one of the trucks before turning her attention elswhere. The sides of the cars were labeled 'Garnet Industrusies, Inc.' "That is good to hear. She recently introduced me to a swordmaster, so I will be training outside of the Academy more often."

"It was informative returning my home country, as it were. Had an unxpected visit from some realitives of mine, but for the most part it was quiet. Found some things my father left behind." A construction worker waved to the three idling armored trucks to move forward, John idly splitting his attention between Vicki and the outside.

"I still have not figured out ---" John paused mid-sentence as the last truck passed by the worker whose vest opened enough that he could make out the holstered weapon. That however, was not the problem. The military grade detonater the man holding was. "HARD COVER!" he yelled as he surged forward, his arms attemting to force both the cabbie and Victoria to the floor.

A split second later, the world became light and noise.

[Semi-Autogyro]

GM

Vicki gorggily awoke to a dull throbbing in her head that could be attributed to either the explosion, the results of said explosion, or the deafening sound of heavy rotorwash from a nearby helicopter. Their taxi driver was slumpled back in her seat, her chest rising and falling steadily. She appeared to have been knocked unconsious, probably from the deployment of the airbag. John on the otherhand, looked more dishevled than she could ever recall with the cut across his forehead and hanging limply with glasses askew from his seatbelt.

As her senses cleared she heard shouting and a loud banging coming from somewhere ahead of the broken taxi, her view blocked by a k-rail that had crushed the hood of the cab into the bridge.

[Azuth65]

Vicky shook her head, bits and pieces of broken glass falling from her snowy hair. She reached over to the ruins of the cab's passenger seat pinning John down, her hands had several small cuts that had healed by the time she was able to touch the broke seat.

With only a minor effort of her superhuman strength she was able to lift the remains seat off her friend, pushing it almost through the shattered windshield. As she freed her teammate she heard him starting to return to consciousness.

[Semi-Autogyro]

There was a sharp intake of air followed by coughing from John as Vickis' strength proved no match for the battered seat. "Ow."

He pushed his sunglasses up to be properly seated on his face before untangling himself from the seatbelt. "Thanks, Victoria. Are you allright?" " He questioned as the oppresive noise from the nearby helicopter grew louder, and even started to kick up some minor dust. "That sounds like a Chinook..." The teen hero noted.

[Azuth65]

Vicky breathed a sigh of relief that John was alright, "I'm fine. Ish, I think I'll be picking glass out of my hair and clothes for a few days. But, not as bad as my first date with Morgan so, there's that."

The young teleporter scooted back towards her side of the crashed vehicle and punched the remains of the window out so she could stick her head out and look around without being sliced to ribbons. The handful of small gashes she accumulated on her arms stung like tiny hornet stings but closed themselves quickly. Thank God for quick-healing, she thought to self as she peered out.

[Semi-Autogyro]

GM

As she rendered the window glass into a fine powder with her blow she heard John moving behind her as he checked on the cabbie. Behind her sat more damaged cars, most of them unoccupied as the residents quickly evacuated their vehicles. The explosion had caused a concrete k-rail to land square across the multiple lanes of traffic, clearly intending to block access across the bridge. The grit from the dual rotorwash picked up blew about coming from the helicopter overhead, heavyweight cabled dangling underneath it as the so called construction workers attached them to hardpoints on the armored truck.

There was already one helicopter moving away from the bridge with one of the trucks, moving out to sea. The second trucks' frame creaked as it was lifted off the ground, with some of the hijackers also stapped to the cables in order to make their exit as well. The secuirty guards that were in the trucks were in a group overlooked by two hijackers with automatics and baclavas. The second helicopter and its payload cleared the bridge as the final helicopter began to descend towards the bridge.

Other robbers stood around waiting as one with an earpiece guided the pilot overhead.

Vicki felt a tap on her shoulder. "Driver is stable. Sitrep?"

[Azuth65]

Vicky pulled her head back into the vehicle, her hair blown into a complete mess by the helicopter's downwash. She reached into a pocket, pulling a hair tie out and worked her hair into a quick if messy ponytail. "Two of the armored cars have been take, multiple hostiles, armed with automatic weapons, hostages. The guy with the earpiece is guiding the last helo to the final truck."

Reaching into the floorspace she grabbed her messenger bag, commenting with a smirk, "You suit up while I slip into something more comfortable?" Unless John had a plan that required blending in with the civilians she was ready to pull her teleport-into-costume trick then and there before ruining the terrorist's afternoon.

[Semi-Autogyro]

John nodded, and put two fingers on one of the arms of his sunglasses. A brief electric blue bolt went into the glasses, and moments later the teen was clad in his armor. Myrmidon turned to give his teammate some privacy to change, and grabbed the nearby game console. The crash had not been kind to it, but he had bought the extended warranty which in Freedom City did tend to cover things like this.

Channeling his power into the broken parts, he augmented them into an airfoil grenade launcher that was the signature weapon of a series of games that Victoria had introduced him to. He pulled back on the charging handle, and made ready to engage multiple targets. << I will go left, you take right? >> The helmeted hero asked his teammate.

[Semi-Autogyro]

<< I will run distraction. Free the hostages. >> Myrmidon slid out of the wreckage, moving to the front of the taxi.

The hijackers noticed this, and the foreman barked out. "Heroes on scene boys! Double time it! Keep 'em occupied!"

Myrmidon leveled the the disc launcher at the group ahead of him and discharged the weapon. A glowing blue disc about the size of a dessert plate slammed into one of the hijackers, and detonated.

Three hijackers went tumbling like bowling pins, and the fourth had dove down behind a makeshift barrier which protected him from the blast.

[Azuth65]

A small screen of red and white smoke erupted around Vicky, clearing a few seconds later to reveal her dressed in her costume, setting the bag down one leg of her civilian jeans flopped out of the half closed bag. "Sounds like a plan," Vicky agreed. She stayed back to let Myrmidon get the enemy's attention and got to watch with silent awe his weapon handling ability.

Once opportunity showed itself again, Wisp scanned through the now glassless windshield to get an accurate count on her foes. In another plume of bi-colored smoke, she made several seemingly random jumps around the battlefield; each one punctuated by a rapid series of punches, kicks, or both.

When she got to the man seeming to be in charge on the ground, her fist immediately sent a warning back to her pain receptors that punching this man was going to be far from easy. The semi-delayed hollow clang confirmed her suspicion.

Vicky, finishing her circuit of hostage takers, landed back by the wrecked cab in a final cloud of smoke as she rubbed her aching knuckles.

[Semi-Autogyro]

GM

Myrmidon watched impassively as Wisp blindsided the remaining hijackers, the only noticable reaction was the shifting of his aim at the foreman when the man was the sole remaining enemy combatant.

""Good effort, missy!" The bearded foreman replied, as the savage blow had ripped open his shirt to reveal a dull greyish white metal that had weathered Wisps' blow without a scratch. ""But unfortunately I'm on a tight schedule, no time for distractions. However fun they might be." He said with a jaunty smile before jumping easily onto the top of the remaining armored truck. With a gesture the last cable animated and hooked itself onto the truck. ""We're clear. Move out." he spoke into the comm set in his other hand. He then had the gall to wave goodbye to the two heroes.

The security guards were their own form of karmic balance, as they trussed up and bound the unconscious hijackers with the materials that were supposed to be used on them. The female security guard ran towards the nearest dropped weapon, and began emptying the clip at the rapidly ascending truck to no avail. When it clicked empty she angrily threw the weapon down and began cursing a storm of rather colorful invectives. The last guard, who made his way over to the pair, called out to them.

"You've got to go after him. There's still one of our people locked in the back of each truck!"

[Semi-Autogyro]

Myrmidon looked to the retreating helicopters and back to the man. << They are still within pursuit distance for us. What was your payload? This was not a simple smash and grab for currency. >>

The guard looked askance at the helmeted hero. "Uncut gemstones." was the oblique reply.

<> Myrmidon read the nameplate <<Mister Burke.>>

Burke went a little green at that statement, and began stammering out the truth of the matter. "Garnet Industruies is one of the select few companies with capability of cutting and polishing Daka crystals...we were transporting a little over twelve kilos of uncut crystal between the three trucks."

Myrmidon turned to Wisp. <>

[Azuth65]

Wisp nodded at her teammate, "You're right, capturing the hired help won't stop further attempts and might get more civilians injured in the crossfire. Mister Burke, wait here for the authorities please. Myrmidon and I will catch up with the trucks."

With that she placed a hand on his shoulder and the duo vanished from the bridge in a plume of crimson and white smoke, reappearing with a similar display inside the rear compartment of the foremost truck, hoping the guard wouldn't be too panicked by their sudden entrance.

[Semi-Autogyro]

Myrmidon by now was used to his teammate’s impulsive tendencies, which was expressed with a reserved mental sigh when Wisps' hand landed on his shoulder. He was proven correct in his assumption that teleporting in on a potentially twitchy security guard was a bad idea, when he was staring into the business end of a Remington Model 870. His instinctive training kicked in, slapping the shotgun to the side before grabbing and twisting the weapon from the holders' grasp. It popped free and Myrmidon easily turned the weapon back on its previous holder. The safety was still on.

The very surprised security guard fell backwards from the altercation, landing with an startled Ack! before throwing her hands up to shield her face. "Don't Shoot! I'll be good. Take whatever you want!" The guard herself looked very familiar, with an uncanny resemblance to the other female security guard from the bridge.

<< We are here to help. >> Myrmidon replied, while feeling a bit guilty with both the incredulous and wary look the woman shot him more than Wisp. << Sorry. Reflexes. >> He finished lamely while offering her shotgun back.

[Azuth65]

Wisp suddenly felt like slamming her head against the wall, Of course the guard would be pretty much expecting something like this. Stupid girl, think before you act! Out loud she said with more than a touch of chagrin in her voice, "Sorry. I didn't think far enough ahead. I'd only gotten as far as the chance of our smokey entrance being seen through the windows of the driver's compartment being a very bad thing and tipping off the jerks piloting that we were hitching a ride."

Noting the small slat opening into the driver's compartment she started, "Um, ma'am, do you have a way to contact the guards in the other trucks, ideally something anyone in the helicopters can't pick up? Let them know I'm coming over so we don't end up with any friendly fire? I have a plan..."

[Semi-Autogyro]

GM

The guard took her shotgun back, clutching onto it like a protective talisman, her panic giving way enough to converse with Wisp. She avoided looking at Myrmidon, who knew better and retreated to the back end of the truck. "The only thing I have is our radios between the trucks. They're on a police band, so most civilian transmitters won't pick them up." She looked up to the white-haired heroine. "We have been talking a little already. Steve, Eddie, and I. On what to do."

The woman picked herself off the floor, which was easier said than done with the slight swaying of the truck. "I'm Helena. The radio is over there." She pointed at the device in question. "I hope your plan is better than your entrance."

[Azuth65]

Rubbing the back of her head, Wisp still looked pretty embarrassed for her lack of forethought. "Again, sorry Helena." Explaining her plan, the teleporter started, "It might be for the best though if you share the plan with them. My idea was to get all three of you together so when we land in the mastermind's hideout, I can get you all out what will likely be a shooting gallery in one jump while my partner here drops a flash-bang or does something else equally distracting. If any of you can pilot one of the helicopters currently carrying us, that would certainly be an asset."

She shot John a knowing smile, "Myr is very creative when it comes to causing trouble for our adversaries, he only has four settings; 'broke', 'blind', 'bedlam', and 'all of the above'."

"Questions, comments, opinions?" she asked two others.

[Semi-Autogyro]

Helena nodded and contacted the others, who sounded relieved that they weren't alone in this mess.

<< We are likely headed to a large oceangoing vessel of some sort. As soon as we pass into international waters, the Coast Guard from at Lonely Point is out of their jurisdiction. If we disable the ship or bring it back into native waters, we would be able to have a extraction method other than procuring one of the helicopters. >> Myrmidon turned his attention to the secure cases.

<< I think infighting might be the best method for distraction. Which we will perform with these. >> The helmeted hero held up the case of uncut Daka crystal. << These are likely the cause for this entire heist. If they are not in the manifest, whoever is running this operation might think that they have been double crossed. >> Myrmidon continued. << We just need to locate somewhere safe on the ship to secure you three and the crystal while the two of us sabotage as much as possible. >>

[Azuth65]

Wisp mulled over Myrmidon's comment about their destination being some sort of cargo ship or something outside of United States waters. She refrained from commenting about being able to pilot a boat, instead hoping John had some knowledge rattling around in his head from the the imperfect imprinting process he had been grown with.

The teleporter nodded in agreement about the plan to hide the crystals, "If I had some skill at pick pocketing, I'd try and slip one into a part of the big guy's armor so it could fall at just the right moment to further play up the double cross charade."

With her comments added to the discussion and the other guards informed of incoming company, it took only a few minutes to get the back of the remaining trucks emptied for Daka crystals and armed guards.

[Semi-Autogyro]

GM

With the plan in place and the guards informed, the pair of Irregulars instigated their plan. Myrmidon had been correct, the large shape of a superfreighter being visible outside the window. However, it was an unusual configuation with clean lines and barely a hint of rust. Not to mention the fact that it had helipads on it. When their helicopter started to descend, Vicki was able to port the guards into some secure shipping containers on deck, and the pair themselves to a shadowy corner overlooking a loading bay.

The helicopters hovered over the loading bay and the forman unhooked the lines with a simple gesture via his ferrokinetic powers, and the helicopters moved in to land on their pads. While this was happening, a group that Wisp guesstimated to be around twenty or more indivudals with assault rifles and grenade lauchers moved into position facing the rear doors of the truck. With the helicopters nown landed with their blades slowing, there was an odd moment of quiet before the foreman moved alongside his troops and ripped the back doors off of the armored trucks with a slashing gesture. The trio of doors flew above the gathered mercs and slammed loudly down on the deck. The mercs raised their rifles to fire only to pause when there were no targets inside the cabs.

The foreman looked baffled for a second before yelling and pointing at the three nearest mercs and stomping over to a nearvy telephone and picking it up. Myrmidon was not watching this, as when they had ported to the corner, he had nearly stumbled on something underfoot. He found a set of small wooden crates, which he proceeded to look into. Wisp watched as the three mercs searched the vehicles, not finding what they were looking for. The trio leaned out of the doors and shooked their heads at the foreman, who visibly flinched and continued the conversation on the phone. There was a sharp intake of breath benhind her from Myrmidon, and he wordlessly showed her the content of the box: white-phosphorous hot loaded RPG rounds. The boxed itself was stamped Sanguine Shipping, Inc. The Irregular duos' attention was brought back whith the slamming open of a bulkhead door in the loading bay, and an attractive woman in a expensive business suit walked out flaked by a quartet of heavily armed and armored bodyguards.

At claremont, they had been of course shown entries of wanted criminals and the like not only for practice against in the Doom Room but also to make them aware of who they were dealing with. Neither Vivki or John failed to identify the new arrival: the so called 'Contessa of Blood' Regina King, wanted for Arms Traffiking by both UNISON and AEGIS.

[Azuth65]

Wisp looked over the assembled forces gathered around the armored trucks. Her first instinct, one which she quashed nearly instantly, was to charge in with her favored teleport-takedown maneuver. But roughly two dozen mercenaries armed with assault weapons made her pause. I know I heal fast but don't think I'd be getting up from a head on fight with these odds, she thought.

Glancing at her teammate, and the box of goodies she had dropped them on, she spoke in a barely audible whisper, "Strategy always was you and Crow's specialty. You have any ideas for how to handle this?"